The Fox and Tanuki
by Deamiel
Summary: Sealed with the conscience of the demon fox, Kurama, Naruto only wished for acceptance. After searching long and hard he could only find it in his Ouji-sama under the name of Tanuki. He only looked forward to the day he would be united with his confidant and closest friend. But he needed to leave the village and it was going to be hard if they wanted him as a weapon. GaaNaru
1. Chapter 1

The noise of calculated tapping filled the barely decorated room. The pencil was rapped rhythmically and predictably in callous yet femininely thin fingers against a notebook transcribed with rough sketches, arrows and long winded explanations which were more detailed than one look in a microscope.

"Get your ass down brat, dinner is ready..." A gruff and bitter voice filtered into the room and shaking the boy who held the pencil from his inner musing.

The boy was lean and wiry, the result of long rigorous training sessions, but a strange scent hung around him, odourless and seemingly a product of foul yet sickening thoughts overcooking. His lips weighed down by lead never could carry any emotion. While his two orbs were painted a vivid sea blue, churning and gushing violently in a spiral as if to suck you in and drown you until all life had left your body.

His fingers trailed lazily through his side swept bangs while the rest of his untamable mane of spiky hair was forcefully pinned down into some shape with hair pins. But the colours his possessed made many envious. His father was blessed with golden blonde hair but the boy, on the other hand, was gifted the colour of melted rays from the fiery sun.

Standing robotically he exited his room. It was all very spartan, no pictures, no sense of personality or comfort just a small neatly made bed pushed against the wall, the window was not draped however permanently kept open while the walls were painted a sterile white.

The Namikaze mansion was a splendour to see, being palatial from the outside with dark marble lofty sculptures and exotic wallflowers which had climbed into the boy's room from his open window much to his minimal delight, the structure was baronial and many always took a few moments to pause and revel in the presence of the building. The corridors that lead to the young boy's room was colder, even with the same amount of decoration as the other parts of the mansion his side always seemed to give his family the chills. They were always reluctant to retrieve him for dinner or any other farce.

Having trekked through the long winding hallways he inwardly frowned at the sudden warmth which permitted from the walls. He heard loud yet warm chatter between parents and children, it did not hurt anymore. Before he used to cry himself to sleep as grievous thoughts entered his mind about his heritage and his heart felt the telltale sting of a knife shanking it tortuously. Although he was used to it now.

He entered the room and did not bother to scout the room and simply made a bee-line to the kitchen to retrieve his dinner and planned to finish it in his own bedroom. He always did this and then washed up his mess early in the morning along with his breakfast, which he enjoyed in solitude. Once again it was ramen. He had nothing against the dish, he even liked it, still, it was hardly necessary to be served it every odd day under the pretence of a hearty meal. It barely gave him enough nutrients to survive training and he had to in the end, much to his distaste, rely on his teacher to provide him with the odd meal to make up for his mother's obsessive behaviour.

"Naruto!" He had taken too long. He was caught by the very person he wanted to avoid. "Let me serve you," the voice was calm and washed over him affectionately. Naruto seemed to reluctantly edge away from the stove and from the tall feminine figure which smiled brightly at him. This was Mito, named after a kunoichi who originated from Uzushiogakure's Uzumaki clan and married Hashirama Senju, the village's First Hokage, and later became the first jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails, therefore, having to keep up with her predecessor's name. She had grown out her intense red hair and tied it up on her side in a messy bun with light waves and decorated with two black tama with a transparent bead artfully painted with miniature red flowers, something Tsunade had bestowed upon her after living up to the famed Mito Uzumaki.

Mito carefully ladled out some of the noodles and soup and handed him some chopsticks. "You are going to eat with us?" Her voice so hopeful that it gnawed quickly at Naruto's emotionless stare. With a stiff nod, Mito guided him into the dining room where the noise suddenly dropped to nothing. He sat at the very end of the table away from most of the other occupants but directly in front of Mito. The older sister could not wipe the smile off her face as she watched her younger brother take bites out the food, completely ignoring the other people in the room.

"Did I tell you, papa?" A keen voice spoke up. The boy's father, Minato, having the same but softer features compared to Naruto, turned brightly to his second daughter, Mito being the oldest. The youngster was an eye-candy, wearing whatever complemented and highlighted her assets, her twin tails shaking with excitement as the teen bounced in her seat. "We learnt the henge today and Iruka-sensei was astonished that I got it on my first go!" The father eats up the news like a dog dying of starvation as he too shared her excitement.

"That's great Naruko, it won't be long before I teach you more complicated techniques." The Minato glanced at his wife, Kushina, who frowned back. "What about you Naruto...did you learn anything?" Naruto froze at the question. He narrowed his eyes and scrunched his eyebrows.

"Yeah Yeah about that papa! My dear Nii wasn't even in lessons today!" The girl smirked, which the parents mistook for childish innocence, only to watch with uncaring eyes as her parents chewed out Naruto over the new revelation.

"Why weren't you in the lesson and you better speak fast or I'll chain you dattebayo!" The whole evening had gone down the drain. Luckily Menma, the second oldest, was not there, had he been there he would have cut in and answered for Naruto only to worsen the situation.

"Mother calm down and put down the spatula." Mito dejected firmly. Kushina was ready to explode but Minato placed a hand on her shoulder and eased her back into her seat and pulled the spatula out her hand. "Naruto why weren't you in the lesson?" The enquiry was not hostile nor was is evasive, it was softly spoken and seemed to relax his tensed shoulders.

"Uchiha-sama had invited me over for the day and I had already been excused by Iruka-sensei today." With that explanation, Naruto looked up at Mito, uncaring if his mother or father found the reasoning inadequate. "He wanted to talk to me about something important and today was the only day he was free from meetings for a while. I had already handed in and performed the henge in front of Iruka-sensei to show that I was not missing anything." Mito waved her hand in the air.

"I'm sure Uchiha-sama had something important to divulge to you. Just make sure to tell me next time." Naruto nodded. Knowing the strained look she was sending him. Naruko had the habit of spouting lies about Naruto when he did not attend meals with them and the fact that Naruto avoids his parents like a plague did not help. "Good boy." Naruto froze on the spot and paused as if to silently bask in the praise before getting up and leaving the table. Washing his bowl and

Washing his bowl and chopsticks he dried them and placed them in their appropriate area. He nodded briefly in Mito's direction as if to wish her good night, before heading to the east wing of the house. Welcoming the sweet isolation he opened his door and pushed it closed and pumped some red chakra into his hands, activating some complicated runes in the door before they dimmed into nothing. It was for safety, just in case someone tried to force their way into his room without the correct chakra signature then the bombs on the other side of the door would detonate, something Naruto had created himself.

A whisper of scruffling came for the window and immediately Naruto ran to peer outside it to see a timid racoon grappling desperately at the vines of his favourite wall-flowers. He let out a chuckle, his voice light and silvery, attracting the attention of the animal which ogled him in surprise. Naruto reached out and clasped the animal by the middle and brought him up to his chest with satisfaction. The animal tried to bury itself deeper into the light embrace to be rewarded with another genuine chuckle.

"Now, now little one. I want the letter from my Ouji-sama."(Prince) The little racoon seemed to pout before summoning a scroll into existence in Naruto's hand. "I'm sure my Ouji-sama is worried about you but maybe you can stay longer." Naruto smiled at the animal who seemed ready to protest about leaving. Placing the animal onto his desk, moving all his study books onto the side, he pulled open a drawer and pulled out a few handful of dried pieces of meat. "Here, I like to keep a snack but we can share." The racoon sniffed intensively at the pile of meat but only took one when Naruto had taken a piece and munched on it, then only did it scoff down some pieces with renewed hunger.

Unsealing the scroll with the same red chakra, knowing it would burn immediately if forced open, and tore through the words on the page with ravenous eyes.

 _Dear Kitsune-san,_

 _I'm happy to know that you are very fond of Tadashi, he is one of the younger ones of the pack and seems to always like an adventure. That is why I had chosen him to be our messenger until we meet face to face._

Naruto turned to the racoon who was now more reserved and modestly nibbling on a piece of meat. "Thank you, Tadashi." The racoon gazed up and dismissed the compliment with a simple nuzzle into Naruto hand which lay free on the table. Naruto laughed and scratched the racoon under his ear and allowed the animal to revel under his attention.

 _Your concern is noted however not needed, if my father does over step his bounds, which he most certainly will, I shall alway be on my guard. It is you who needs to be worried the most, the villagers only seem to be getting more violent and reckless by the day. I do understand as to why you wish not to finish them off under the pretence of their blatant stupidity as your father will be more displeased and in turn damage you worse than the villagers. I do wish I could take Tadashi's place and come to your side and kill all those who even look at you in an offending manner. But I can not._

 _Too many eyes watch me and too many ears listen for me. All I can say is that avoid them as best as possible my dear friend. It would be a pity to lose you to such bigotry. After all the intimate letter we exchange I would like to know someone is keeping me from falling into insanity even if I am gripping by threads. You are very dear to me, even mother approves of our relationship, which I find very puzzling as she has never shown a hint of approval to anyone but me._

 _My day has not changed however, you will be happy to know that father is leaving for a diplomatic meeting, therefore, I can send letters more frequently. And to address your previous questions I was able to obtain the herb you so practically begged me to gather from the village's green house. I hope I will never have to undergo the process of reading more than five large paragraphs about a specific plant. You might also be proud to know that the seed you had sent me to plant and care for had flowered today, as unbelievable as it may sound you were right in saying that a sense of accomplishment had gripped me. I hope to show it to you someday, however, I fear if I even touch it the plant will meet its untimely demise._

 _From your most trusted confidant and loyal friend Tanuki_

At the very end was a seal which contained the herb that Naruto's Ouji-sama had sent. Naruto felt a range of emotions, wider than any spectrum he was normally used to. Having the emotional capabilities of a rock had its ups and downs, however, the ups outweighing the downs. But somehow reading a letter from his Ouji-sama always made his heart ache in the most wonderful ways.

"Come Tadashi, I hope Ouji-sama will not mind if I kept you for longer." The little racoon was on the verge of drifting off under the relaxing strokes Naruto gave him. Carrying the animal to his bed he pulled the white cover to his waist, allowing the animal to make itself comfortable next to him and stroked the large bushy tail to help him drift into dream land.

* * *

A lone figure surrounded by bountiful sand gazed into the sky. Cardenal hair ruffling in the nightly cool breeze which explored his village made entirely of sand based structures and glass as mint green orbs swept the sky lazily. His lips tugged into a smile as his mind flooded with images of a blonde beauty. Of all the things he imagined his Kitsune to resemble he had not even scratched the surface of his charm. Tadashi was not only adventurous but the racoon was bonded to the lone figure allowing him to look with Tadashi's eyes. Something he was now used to. The lone figure spent most his nights watching the sleeping fox, at first with longing as Naruto could sleep but later with rapped attention it came to the figure that he could not pass through a day without knowing his fox was unharmed and in a restful sleep.

So it let it be. After all, his mother approved of his interaction and he was not about to let go of the one person who offered acceptance.

* * *

 **Please do comment and tell me what you like! The more comments I get the more I feel like I need to update :) Thank you and Deamiel out**


	2. Chapter 2

"Mother, you shouldn't be so...so...urgh," Mito did not know what to say. Both her parents shared a look, "You're doing it again! Just because he is different and has the soul in him doesn't make him a stranger." Kushina sternly glowered in Mito's direction and turned lightly to Naruko, his lips forcefully turned upwards.

"Sweety, why don't you go to the living room. You can watch some television before going to sleep." Naruko nodded, knowing best not to complain when she could hear the grinding of Kushina's teeth. The girl left, not sparing a glance back. Kushina waited patiently for a few moments after her younger daughter left the room and then snapped in Mito's direction.

"Mito, how dare you?" Minato held onto his wife's shoulder as if to restrain her. Mito stood up from her chair and balled her hands into fists.

"How dare I?" Mito screamed, not caring if her usual conservative self-shattered, "How dare you two treat Naruto like a stranger! He only wants parental love and you aren't even giving him that. He used to be so happy and open. Now, look at what he has become." Mito slouched slightly, silent tears dribbling down her cheeks unforgivingly. "Now he won't even call me when he needs help..." Mito fell into her chair and covered her eyes. Her form shaking and hands trying their hardest to end the river of tears.

"We love him. But you know we can't pick favourites. We want to help Naruto but if we keep a closer eye on him than Naruko then we would be neglecting her." Minato answered in place of his wife, knowing that if she opened her mouth now then all hell would break lose. Kushina was a woman who ran on emotions and she did not care as to what came out her mouth as long as everyone else submitted in the end. Mito was the exact opposite and analyses the conversation and argues on logic and flow of information between the participants. So it was obvious they would clash several times in the house.

"Oh, the sweet, sweet irony." Mito voiced out in monotone with madness lacing her words. The room fell into a cruel hush as both parties did not know how to proceed without causing a full blown war in the house.

* * *

Naruko looked up to the wall clock from the television. It had been an hour since she had left the dining room and the whole house was in a limbo between maddening silence and someone pulling the first punch. She had always known something was different about her twin brother. He used to be so playful and the epitome of brotherly love. Then it occurred to Naruko that love was not being equally shared in the house. Naruto always seemed to be the darling of the house, the saint amidst all the misery that plagued the house when Naruko had displayed red chakra by accident. It unnerved her.

She was the one with the red chakra, the special power but Naruto was getting all the attention. So she played her part, putting on an innocent facade to shine brighter than her brother could. He could go waste time with books and theories which rivalled Tsunade's age but Naruko knew the only way to solve something was brute force or unfair play. So she had achieved her goal. She monopolised her parents, even if Mito strayed to Naruto's side which she did not predict, on the other hand, her older brother, Menma, took charge and helped keep Mito out the way.

Unfortunately, he was on a long term mission and Naruko's attempt to paint Naruto in a bad light did not have the same amount of effect on the family as when Menma was here but she still did some damage. She didn't know when it started. The urge to isolate and demean her brother. Her other half which everyone always deemed understood her the most. And she believed them when she was younger. They were very hard to separate, to the point Naruko refused to sleep on her own, but she started to feel jealous. It was apparent her brother was more talented than her. More easy to come by than her. Better than her.

What was she to do? She was only a teenager. All she wanted was acceptance.

She knew how the villagers always hurt her brother behind her parents' backs. She was the one who seeded the idea into his head to tell their father, the Hokage of the village. It was the best day of her life. The colour draining from Naruto's face. The look of pure unadulterated rage and disgust that her parents expressed was wonderful in her opinion. They did not believe him. The utter humiliation and disgrace her brother suffered made her happy.

That was when she drew the line. Naruko was not meant to find joy in others misery. She only did this so she would get more attention. That was when it hit her. There was something wrong with her. No one should find joy in others suffering unless they are the enemy. But Naruto was simply a rival, it was Naruko who sank deeper into the satisfaction of winning against him.

But soon it wasn't fun anymore. Her brother did not cry. He did not send those pleading glances and she did not hear the confused sobs as he talked himself into thinking it was just a phase his parents were having. Soon he moved out her bedroom, leaving her with a room fit for two people, and isolated himself in the room all the way in the west wing and stayed in the furthest room possible without having to leave the house.

That is when she knew she fucked up. In the corner of her mind, she always knew that what she was doing was unforgivable. But she was only a child doing whatever she could to stand on the same footing as her brother. She idolised him. It shocked her. It scared her. It confused her.

Naruko had just tossed out the one person she looked up to and performed all these acts so she could be on an equal level with him. It was ridiculous. It was stupid. It was true.

Naruko pulled her feet to her chest. Tears dripping down her cheeks. She knew deep down that she wanted to stop. Confess everything to Naruto and force him to take her back. The link she severed with him hurt. It ached every time she saw him, heard about him and thought about him. But she could not turn back now. She was in too deep. All she knew now was to demean her brother. She did not know where to start, how to heal and reconnect. She had done too much damage.

"Naruko?" Her mother called out. Naruko quickly wiped her cheeks.

"Yes?" She looked up and smiled.

"It's time for bed." Naruko nodded and trailed towards her room. Pausing at the splitting cooridor in which one lead to her brother's side of the house. Her eyes stared in longing.

* * *

Please do comment and tell me what you like. As you can see above I have not made Naruko a complete villain. I personally believe that no one is completely evil or else they are not actually human. I have not met a completely evil person in my life but hey! Me rambling off in a tangent. Again please do comment and tell me what you like or even comment for an update would be helpful. Deamiel out :)


	3. Chapter 3

In his sleep, Naruto mumbled incoherently to himself. His conscience had drifted off into nothings as he sunk slowly into a sense of bliss and weightlessness. Like a feather, he travelled smoothly into the unknown.

"Oye," a gruff voice, seeming hostile but with closer inspection was spoken endearingly, "how long are you going to stand there with your eyes closed?" Naruto chuckled, fluttering his eyes open and hiding them from the sudden increase of luminosity around him.

An inescapable reign of woodland towered the earth all around him. Palm sized balls of white luminescent ethereal beings hovered and appeared to dance mischievously around him, lighting up the evergreen lush foliage and forestry surrounding him. Naruto couldn't help but take in deep breaths of the refreshing air enriched with exotic perfumes of rare and mesmerising flowers. Crickets chirped, owls hooted and there was a soft padding of paws against the leaf scattered soil. His mind and soul felt cleansed around such vivid life.

"How many times have you been here? More times than you can count and you still gape at the view." The voice muttered to himself next to Naruto. At the exact time, Naruto gazed up and gawked at the pitch black sky punctured with stars as a translucent unearthly swaying of pure light undulating like sheets in the wind. The phenomenon Naruto dubbed as 'Mai Tenmei' (translated as 'Dancing Lights').

"Okay, enough of your eyeballing or else I'll make it stop." Naruto frowned, creasing his eyebrows and puffing out his cheeks in a pout. "Not going to fall for that nonsense, maybe next time kit." The voice replied to his expression. Naruto turned to his side, smoothing out his face into a neutral gaze of mild curiosity.

Next to him was a fox, his autumn fur holding all the shades of leaves in that season was groomed to perfection so that it was smooth and velvety to the touch. Naruto reached out and casually petted the animal by the ear, alternating from light scratching to simply stroking and revelling in the softness.

"Oh right there! You hit the spot." That stopped the animals rambling right there as he basked in the affection. "Let's start by hunting." The Fox pulled away from Naruto's hand and edged towards a semi passageway between some shrubbery with stepping stones leading the way.

Naruto nodded, formed some hand seals, bit onto his thumb hard enough that it bled lightly, and brushed his thumb across his navel where his seal was. With a small plume of smoke which erupted on his head and back, he adorned the key features of a fox. His whiskers become more prominent with depth, on his head, a pair of golden fox ears peaked out and twitched around as his senses were assaulted with more acute data which rivalled that of the Inuzuka clan. Behind him was a bushy tail swaying gently side to side.

"How do you feel?" The Fox, Kurama, nipped lightly at Naruto's idle fingers to get his attention.

"My body has become less fragile after we changed the seal. I can walk and do more things until I feel tired again and have to go to bed again or eat." Naruto replied in monotone while reaching up and feeling his ears to make sure there was nothing irregular about them.

"Humans are such insects, that they forget that we bijuu are not just a mass of chakra if you separate us then because they sealed my chakra in Naruko and the soul in you I will start to make chakra by myself, the seal was not equipped to handle my chakra. So you were poisoned with it from birth which caused dizziness, weakness and nausea. Since we altered the seal it is obvious that you would see such improvements. It will only get better from now." Kurama ended with a satisfied growl.

The duo then spent the next hours chasing each other, taking turns to hide and testing Naruto's senses according to smell and hearing when trying to catch Kurama or when they switched they would find most exercise and pressure Naruto's body would take.

"You are doing well, but the only thing dragging you down is the healing of your body. Eat better, sleep when needed and don't push too hard." Kurama muttered nonchalantly but his underlining worry for the young boy was clear. Naruto gave a quick nod and proceeded to lay down on the floor, Kurama approached him with a sigh and laid down by the boy allowing his tail to be used as a makeshift pillow.

"Must you always be so dull. You used to be so interesting when younger." Kurama mulled. Naruto ignored pang he felt in his chest and replied coldly.

"I was naive when younger." Kurama snorted.

"That's what made you so interesting. 'Look Kurama my Ouji-sama replied, when I meet him I'm going to give him a big sloppy kiss!" Kurama voiced in a silly high pitched tone.

"I did not sound like that!" Naruto grumbled indignantly, huffing in retaliation.

"That is the part you are going to argue on? Not the fact that you are going to give your Ouji-sama a big sloppy kiss!" Kurama roared in laughter. "You still haven't lost your touch kit."

"I don't even know anymore Kurama. I got it that I was sickly when younger so I tried to catch their attention through other means but I didn't expect Naruko to become what she has." Kurama padded down from the high and replied sagely.

"I would not expect you to. Humans are so unnecessarily complicated. It hurts my head just wondering what you might do to embarrass yourselves next, but on a more serious note I had expected some sort of idiocy on her part but not quite the avalanche she has caused." Naruto returned to star-gazing.

"My Ouji-sama is from The Sand..." Naruto casually through out.

"Oh, what makes you say that?" Kurama becoming interested in how he came to the correct conclusion.

"The paper..." Naruto muttered. "Each major nation has their own way of making paper, seeing as The Sand does not have an abundance of water they use a special residue from a herb called 'Mizu Haru', it used to be a weed but after they found out they could mix it with minimal water and make more than normal amount of paper, saving water along the way, they have reduced imports of paper from Konoha. When I asked Anko to analysis the paper she found the residue." Kurama gave a rude snort.

"Now I'm questioning your need to be a ninja..." Naruto stiffened and sat up slightly to address the fox sternly.

"This whole world revolves around ninja, if I become anything else, even if with ease, I can't go anywhere as freely. I already attend the academy and I have enough strength to pass without collapsing. Then I can prove to father and mother that just because I was weak and sickly when young I can become a ninja and I'll beat Naruko." Kurama waited for the real reason.

"Plus Ouji-sama is a ninja..." Naruto muttered to himself. Kurama roared once again to himself.

"Now that is the real reason! You, kit, are quite a piece of work." Kurama continued to laugh deeply much to Naruto's annoyance.

 **Please do comment and tell me what you like or if I should continue! Deamiel out :)**


	4. Chapter 4

"Think I should go wake him up?" Kankuro muttered lowly, his hand casually covering his face as he spoke as if to hide the movement of his lips then relaxing to his normal posture. Temari didn't make any move to show she had heard him and continued to cook some breakfast, her hands wielding the knife efficiently to delicately slice off the spikes of the pads of cactus, named Kawaī nashi, Kankuro had brought from the market.

She 'accidentally' knocked the spoon off her side and ducked to retrieve it. Letting her lips open and close very discreetly to form a reply. "No, he told me he was awake already." A normal as one can be she played the spoon on the table and commented loudly.

"How clumsy of me." Kankuro snickered.

"Yeah, Temari. How clumsy!" His voice slow and mocking. Temari cast a side glance at him, her glare hitting him full force. Kankuro turn to his side, feeling the heat of his sister's threat making his sweat slightly.

"A little hot today isn't?" Temari commented, enjoying how Kankuro seemed to wave the collar of jump suit after pulling down the hood. Kankuro nodded with a grimace, knowing he had hit his sister's nerve too hard.

"Temari, Kankuro." Arose a dry comment from the entrance to the kitchen. Both occupants turned to the newcomer and turned their head down as if in fear, however, their lips were tilted upwards in smirks as they read the writing on the floor written in sand.

'Brother, Sister how are you both? What are you cooking?' The sand spelt out before quickly rearranging itself into nothing. Temari put her hand on her mouth and coughed a little.

"Temari, you okay?" Kankuro asked.

"Yeah I'm fine, just got a cough from the spices in the salad, you know the one with tomatoes, Kawaī nashi, cucumber, beets and yoghurt." Kankuro nodded as if to accept the reply when it was really meant for Gaara.

Gaara sat at the other end of the table not caring about the sand which slowly trickled up the kitchen counter and onto Temari's cooking board. 'Sounds good!' it read after it carefully arranged itself then returning back to the ground to not contaminate the food.

Gaara seemed to pause a little catching Kankuro's eyes and glancing to the window. Kankuro made no move but looked down to fiddle with his fingers, which he would never do in real life, to see that some sand had spelt out 'remember to meet Baki-sensei at the central market instead of the Kazekage building.'

"Oye Temari aren't we supposed to be at the market to see Baki today?" Temari gasped, the sand melting away into nothing in front of Kankuro.

"Oh yeah, I nearly forgot!" Kankuro shrugged and let silence reign in the kitchen, which was occasionally broken with the odd clang of knife or sizzle of the Kawaī nashi being fried. Temari Immediately plated the dishes and packed the left over in four containers, one for their sensei as well. Gaara having been handed his place gave a discreet curt nod while the everyone sat in silence to have their breakfast.

To any outsider it would have been seen as a detached scene, they would have pitied the siblings as there was no obvious indication of happiness or love between the siblings except between Kankuro and Temari.

Gaara paused mid bite and turned to the window, his tense shoulders relaxing while his facial features turned slack into a more nonchalant smirk. "He is gone."

"Fuck I hate this," Kankuro muttered and was promptly bumped on the head by Temari for his language. Gaara let a small smile twitch on his lips as he stood and reallocated himself next to Kankuro, who smirked and stuck his tongue out at Temari as if he had been chosen by the higher gods.

"Ahaha he's sitting next to me!" Kankuro rubbed it into his sister's face with a sing song voice, irritating the hell out of Temari.

"Shut up Kankuro, you know he takes turns sitting next to us." Temari gritted out with a glower. Her features softened into a motherly smile. "How is everything Gaara?" The boy shrugged and carried on munching on his salad only to comment lightly.

"Same old screaming...I'm going to have to do something before mother gets out of hand." Gaara had gotten some hold on his current resident with a little bargaining with the help of his siblings. Temari nodded understandingly replying carefully.

"I'll try and get us a B-Rank mission in the afternoon but can you hold out until we finish lecture on vegetation today with Baki-sensei?" Gaara paused his movements and his eyes glazed over as his frosty mint pupils dilated and seemed to freeze in place. Temari and Kankuro both crossed their fingers under the table and waited for Gaara to resurface from his talk with Ichibi. Gaara pulled out of his lifelessness with a slight jerk to be welcomed with both his siblings awaiting faces.

"Mother said she should be fine. The moon will not cause too much a problem today." Temari wanted to shake her head at how Gaara addressed the Ichibi but she did not know where to start. Before it was a serious problem when Yashimaru had betrayed Gaara and Temari had grown up to a certain age for her maturity to kick in and feeling like a complete traitor after she assessed her actions to Gaara.

When little every child strives to be like their parents and when their father, Rasa, treated Gaara like a disappointment Temari and Kankuro could not see the fault and simply went along with it, seeing they were not stopped they continued their ill-treatment.

It was fun at first but it soon became a train-wreck when Yashimaru was killed and Temari and Kankuro were forced to look at Gaara in a new light. They confronted Gaara and he showed them the real reason as to his mistreatment, thought Gaara did not expect his siblings to spend the next month apologising every time they saw him. He slowly got used to the affections, with much encouragement from Ichibi who saw the sincerity in their actions, but they had to be careful as to not be spotted by the ANBU Rasa had placed to watch them or else he would separate Gaara from them forever.

"Let's go..." Temari stood, washed the dishes and collected the snack she had made from the whole unit. Before leaving the house Temari approached Gaara and pulled him into a hug.

"We love you Gaara." They had committed to saying it every day, not failing once. Kankuro joined in by ruffling Gaara's maroon hair and hanging a hand around his shoulder in a side hug. Temari leaned down to place a kiss on Gaara's forehead and pulled away and started to fix his attire into more neat folds.

Gaara used to bare his teeth through this ceremony, sometimes threatening them with lost limbs and very vivid description of their untimely deaths, but not matter the size of the threat they still clung to him and showered him with affection. But the sand shield never erected to protect him as if to cement the idea that the siblings were genuine with their feelings. He started to accept the gestures only with the final push from Kitsune who sent a list of books on reading body language which he looked into and used to watch his siblings and still came to the same conclusion. They did care for him.

The wounds Yashimaru and Rasa inflicted on him were healing but will forever leave a scar in his memories.

 **Thank you for reading everyone :)**

 **Reviews**

ReiTheMegaMawile: Thank you for the praise, hope you keep reading my future chapters :)

sofihime: Happy you liked the beginning and I hope you enjoy my future chapters too :)

Guest: I shall try to keep a steady updating but it is proving hard XD thank you for reading and I hope you keep on reading :)

Redfoxshadow: I'm glad it is interesting for you :) That is what I aim for and I hope you keep on reading my future chapters :)

 **Sorry for the late chapter because I was on holiday but here it is :) Please do comment and tell me if you would like to continue. Deamiel out!**


	5. Chapter 5

Naruto woke up with a start, his hair plastered to his face with sweat, hands trembling to get a grip of reality, head pounding mercilessly against his skull. Tadashi who was cocooned right next to him jerked to his hostile stance and whipped around to get his bearings. The animal did not detect any intruders and relaxed to address Naruto who was whimpering lightly while clutching his head.

After the intense training, Kurama had put him through the night he was allowed to enter dreamland, though he should not have been surprised when it was infested with his darkest fears and thoughts which manifested into a chilling nightmare. However, he still cowered in front of them like a child with no hope of over coming them only to wake up and submit himself to forcefully being reminded of some of the most bed wetting imagery.

"Tadashi..." Naruto called out to the Racoon who padded up onto Naruto lap and allowed himself to be pulled into a forceful hug. Naruto's body shivering like a flimsy sheet in the harsh wind of nightmares as he tried to steal Tadashi's warmth and calm through the gesture though not completely successful he had calmed himself to a point he could only stop the racking of his body momentarily.

Slowly but gently Naruto put the Tadashi onto his lap and scratched the back of his ear to hear a delighted mew. "Let's take a bath shall we!" Tadashi nipped his fingers lightly in excitement before jumping off Naruto's lap and lunging for the bathroom door, scratching its claws lightly against the wood.

"Yeah, yeah you're really excited aren't you little one!" Naruto muttered to himself as he scooped up the racoon and opened the door. He started the bath, stripped of all his clothing and released his seal on his stomach to reveal his tail and ears. Tadashi climbed into the tub and started to float in the warm water while letting out hisses of joy.

"Have to clean first Tadashi," Naruto claimed before grabbing the animal and a soft brush. Squirting little mountains of soap in the racoon he used his fingers to rub and massage the fur.

 _'How come I don't get that type of treatment! I call favouritism in the family!'_ Kurama growled, though teasing, in Naruto's head.

Naruto let a small smile twitch on his lips as he replied firmly. "I would do the same but only in area 44, if you come out now every ninja and civilian will be able to feel the chakra leak. We can take a dip in the lake there." The Fox reacted with a simple gruff with a silent underlining threat. Kurama was going to remember this.

Tadashi jerked around in surprise breaking Naruto's trance to notice the poor racoon was drowning in a mound of bubbles. Chuckling lightly Naruto reached for a shower head and let the warm spray of water ease the animal. Using the brush Naruto watered away all the soap and watched in amusement as the Racoon plunged into the tub.

Cleaning himself with soap and water Naruto joined the Racoon in the tub. When the water lost its warmth Naruto pulled out and wiped himself down along with the Racoon. Draping his head in a towel and trying one to his waist, seeing Tadashi become flustered when near a completely exposed Naruto, which confused Naruto since Tadashi was only an animal and should have no sense of nudity.

Drying off Tadashi Naruto let the animal lick his fur to its own preferences. ' _I also want a blow dry and grooming._ ' Kurama ordered which Naruto did not have many objections about other than he would have to take time off.

Walking back into the room he made a bee-line to his wardrobe. The night sky was still prominent from Naruto's window but the moon was low on the horizon. Naruto had to admit he was awake a bit later an normal according to the location of the moon in the sky but the depth of the nightmare outweighed the pros of a fully rested body. His mind was slow and seemed to be still stuck in a dark haze which clogged up his thoughts, he was mostly running in auto mode.

Opening his wardrobe Naruto was faced with clothing of earthy and dark colours. Naruto's dresses still was more leaning towards Kodona (in other words a male Lolita) whereas Naruko was more of Fairy Kei which consisted of pastel colours and childish motifs in her clothing like cute characters of food and supernatural, though she was not very hardcore and only wore the odd full set on her most confident days.

Mito had gone for the traditional style with kimonos of all styles and colour schemes. Menma, however, did not stick to one style, he was like a girl meaning he liked one thing one day and hated it the next, even if he denied it with a frenzy it was family inside joke. Their whole family had weird tastes, which explains Naruto's obsession with Tanuki.

Naruto had to find a way to combat the villagers so he made a facade where he made his kage bunshin no Jutsu (shadow clone technique) dressed in the brightest orange and parade around in the village, he made sure to make his clothes extra scruffy and easy to tear so the more it looked like the villagers damaged him the more they would mind their own business as if they had accomplished something monumental. All while the real Naruto dressed in semi-drag, his long hair and petite body did not reveal much about his gender unless he spoke, escaping the clutches of the villagers all in all.

But there was a downside to this. Whenever he used a Kage Bunshin No Jutsu he would have to suffer the sudden onslaught of memories which did not correlate with his current ones so he was forced to only use this skill in short amounts of time.

"You want to pick?" Tadashi had somehow climbed into his wardrobe and proceeded to claw at clothing as if he was contemplating which one would look best on him. Deciding to humour the anime Naruto picked him up and showed each piece of clothing to it. Naruto was surprised to find Tadashi could actually pointedly showed which he liked and which he didn't.

In the end, Naruto was handed a: white empire lace-trim collar blouse with ruffles along the neck and sleeves, the clothing slightly pinched at the waist to accentuate his subtle curves with a long red ribbon tied around the collar in a tail down bow, a pair of black, white and red tartan skirt which reach an inch above his knee, semi-transparent black lace stockings with floral patterns and his favourite black full laced boots with a high block heel, which he incidentally loved to use in combat knowing that the flat wedge did pack a powerful blow to numerous perverted faces.

' _Damn someone got a refined palette for a Racoon_ ' Kurama mused.

"Okay." Naruto grinned to himself and left for the bathroom to change.

If Naruto had one person to blame for his style it would be Anko, the mad woman who ruled area 44. Anko was the one who had taken Naruto in when he had escaped into the forest by accident when hunted by the villagers. Having survived on berries and meat from unworldly animals he comes across Anko's hideout and immediately passed out. Anko nursed him back to health and took him under her wing after multiple unfortunate encounters afterwards.

He was quite young when Anko dressed him in an antique earthy brown pinafore with a high-waist pleated skirt and lacey ruffles. Naruto refused to go out in this attire and Kurama had forcefully taken over his body to keep him still as Anko dressed him, with a few makeup touches, like concealing his whiskers and curling his hair. Kurama sniggering to himself decided to add his own two pence to the make over and henged some assets on his chest. Anko, having drowned in laughter with Kurama finally dragged him out to the middle of Konoha Central and threw him onto the streets.

He was wary at first, eyeing anyone who walked within a meter of him but he was left alone. He could not unhenge his 'assets' in front of all these people. There were some curious glances considering how Naruto glowered at anything that moved but they left him alone. They left him alone. They left him alone.

That was all that was running in Naruto's head. That one line. He sang it. Even daring to smile at passing children, who seemed to duck and blush under the bright gaze. It was perfect. So he cross-dressed. Going out early in the morning, henging the whiskers away, he enjoyed the few moments of normalcy, though he was always reminded he could never attain it.

It seemed to him that blue eyes and blonde hair aren't that uncommon and if they did feel something was off they would look at his dressing style and immediately shake their head, probably thinking no Namikaze would go out like that. And that was when his alternate persona was formed. The one who believed in fairytales and that his Ouji-sama would whisk him away from this eternal nightmare. The one who hid under this cover which was slowly making it harder to find his real personality. The true Naruto.

Then someone had to just shatter it.

"Ohh Naruko-chan, fancy seeing you here!" Naruto froze. Ayame, the daughter of the owner of Naruko's favourite Ramen stand, came skipping to his side all smiles and excitement. Naruto played his part and smiled awkwardly, shocked by the closeness of the girl.

"I love what you're wearing!" She reached out, Naruto taking a step back but still, Ayame fingered the edge of the skirt.

"Oh yeah, also my Tou-san wanted to give you this!" Ayame grabbed his wrist and closed his fingers around some paper. "New coupons for the new ramen flavour we added to our menu," she paled and looked at the time in he watch, "Oh god I'm late! See you later Naruko-chan!" Ayame left like the whirlwind she was when she entered.

Naruto paled, staring harshly at the coupons in his hand. The reason he was not being hunted was that he looked like Naruko. Naruko was the reason for this!

Naruto wanted to scream and pulled out his hair, cut it to the nape, knife the side of his cheeks to rid of his whiskers, inject his iris with a different colour. Knowing that the reason for his escapism was that he was a mirror image of his twin, that day he had cried himself to sleep.

That week no letters were sent but many were received.

 **(-x-X-x-)**

Gaara smirked. The moon was dipping beneath the horizon, saying its last goodbyes. Stars which kept him company through the long night twinkled their last light before being engulfed by the blinding rays of the sun. Like his mind being engulfed with nothing but Kitsune. Kitsune did this. Kitsune did that. What might Kitsune be doing?

It was driving him crazy.

All these questions buzzed around his head like the merciless sandstorms which plagued Suna's deserts. But it was not a headache induced storm. It was warm. His mind turning slowly as it enjoyed each thought which entered its vicinity. Exploring and experimenting with his new feelings, Gaara savoured each moment wonder what his little Kitsune might be up to. Though he did not have to wonder all the time since Tadashi always sent visual updates and even sounds through telepathy.

When he was sent the image of Kitsune stripping off his clothes to take a bath he forced himself to look away, heat pooling up dangerously in his cheeks, his head becoming light and mushy. He immediately cut his link with Tadashi, reprimanding the Racoon for invading Kitsune's privacy, even if there was nothing to be hidden between the two demon hosts.

But when it came to picking clothes Gaara rushed to point out to Tadashi which one to accept and which to decline. He waited patiently, wondering as to what type of reaction he would make to dressing up Kitsune to his liking.

His mind received a live feed, closing his eyes, he had physically held his breath when Kitsune came out the bathroom. The fact that he was androgynous, though leaning slightly more to the feminine side, he could not help but growl in approval.

The way Kitsune looked up with monotone features as if he was not affected by anyone's judgments but his hand which grabbed fist fulls of his shirt and played with them told another story. The dark tones of his clothing highlighted his features and the subtle curves of the shirt and shorts left Gaara wondering if he should have picked a shorter dress. But promptly discarded the idea since everyone else would see what only he had exclusivity to.

' _I must say that is quite the mate,_ ' Shukaku purred in delight, ' _Kurama and his kin have taught him well..._ ' Gaara could not stop the grunt of agreement, even if he wanted to.

 **(-x-X-x-)**

Naruko lay awake in her bed. But her her mind was a blizzard of unwanted thoughts. She had been lying awake lately due to this episodes Mito would have.

"Shit..." Naruko growled and pulled out her bed and edged to her brothers. The sheets not cleaned or touched from the last time her brother slept in them. Reaching for the pillow she pulled it into a crushing hug and took a deep whiff of its scent. She could almost smell the vanilla soap her brother was so fond of.

"What am I doing!" Naruko threw the pillow away. She stared at her hands, trembling in disgust. There was no way she was wanting her brother's company she didn't deserve it. She had promised herself that she would not ever hint to it and here she was acting like a damsel who had her heartbroken when she was the one who wielded the hammer.

Throwing on a pastel pink tank top and faded jeans, Naruko opened her window and jumped down, using chakra to soften the fall. The sun was already on the rise and blessed the land with its gentle forgiving rays, though even in this scenic atmosphere Naruko did not have the heart to pause and admire.

She wandered the streets, ignoring the passersby even when they stopped to give her a hearty greeting out of their tight schedule. Normally she would he replied in the same amount of fervour and passion but her mind did not allow her to relax under any pretence.

"Naruko-chan! Naruko-chan! It is true that your brother is bad? Kaa-san always says that you saved everyone and your brother will bring sadness to everyone. Is it true?" Naruko whipped around to strangle the child but gasped at the sight of her duplicate who seemed to smile at the child's enquiry. Naruko assessed the fraud and furrowed her eyebrows at her clothing and wanting to barf at the ruffles and style of clothing. She has never worn black in her life and the fraud just looked like she stepped out her ancestor's photograph maybe even painting.

"I don't know," the child pouted when not given a straight answer, "but if my Nii-san does do something bad I'll punch him back into his place." Naruko's fingers itched to grab the fraud and strangle him or her for insulting her brother. Even if she tormented him there was no going back for her but she could not allow anyone else to spoil her brother's image.

Her feet automatically walking up to the duo when she hit herself. What was she doing? She could not endanger the child and everyone else when she confronted the fraud so she followed close behind with anger boiling to temperatures of the sun.

 **(-x-X-x-)**

Naruto huffed. He had to stay in character to make sure no-one suspected him. But this was the response he would expect from Naruko to any child with that question though he thought she would be very eager with the opportunity to hurt him.

' _Weird girl and her weird antics..._ ' Kurama mutters.

' _SHIT WATCH OUT NARUTO!_ ' Naruto jumped to the side but the edge of a kunai still nicks him on the cheek. Blood accumulating to the side and edging down his visage. Spinning around and facing his attacker his mouth became dry as if he had tried to swallow a large spoon of cinnamon.

"How dare you?" Naruko's hair covering her features as she paced over to him and grabbed his collar giving Naruto a full view of her enraged features, her forehead wrinkles, her eyes narrowed to a point and teeth visibly gritting like two rock together. "How dare you insult my Nii-san!"

That was when Naruto's head when blank.

"Your brother?" Naruto sneered, "it's not like you show that respect to him. Why the sudden change of heart?" Naruto was tempted to spit right in her face but he wanted answers before unnecessary fighting.

"What do you know about my Nii-san? And why are you going around looking like me?"

"It is that it," now Naruto was contemplating actually spitting in her face, "wanting to save face? You can say whatever you want but you will never be like him, you can't even touch him."

No reaction on Naruko's part so Naruto obliged.

"What you and those god forsaken parents have done to him! Those sick minded idiots who think that showing love is by ignoring you. What of that?"

There was a minor twitch in Naruko's features. Naruto drew in close and whispered lowly into her ear.

"He never loved you because he could see what a bitch you were..." Kurama couldn't warn him of the sudden mean hook Naruko had pulled. The henge dispelled in a puff to revert his body back to its original shape. Naruto's whiskers in full view.

"Nii-san..." Naruko watched in fright as her brother spat out some blood. "Wait, we need to get you to the hospital and in better clothes!" Naruko reached out to support her brother's fragile frame but was roughly pushed to the ground.

"Don't touch me! The only chance I had at living a normal was robbed of me by birth. I was born weak but I tried to make it up with books but it wasn't enough I knew Minato and Kushina were losing interest! But you! You whore, you just had to be in the limelight and cage me. Used me as entertainment. Was it fun? Because it's all over now." Naruto's iris now injected with Kurama's chakra glowed an iridescent crimson promising everlasting pain with one look. Leaning down and grabbing her chin and pulling on it harshly to reveal tears pooling in those baby blue orbs. "You disgust me." Naruto pushed her again and sped away.

Naruko laid on the ground, heart slowing down, her gasps becoming deeper and harder as her first tears in several years were shed.

 **Well here you go. As depressing as it is I think it's a step forward in the right direction. Please comment and tell me what you like or if you just want an update! Deamiel Out :)**


	6. Chapter 6

Naruto didn't know how long he had laid there in his bed. His eyes having cried every last drop of water stored in his body. His body had stopped shaking like a leaf in the wind and he felt lighter. He did find that a good cry seemed to relieve the weight on his heart temporary, even if he hated crying seeing it as weak.

' _Kit, not to disturb your little tantrum but it's nearly time for Academy.'_ Kurama's voice filtered into his brain. His remark punching a sore spot and aggravating his wounds further.

"You think this is a joke?!" Naruto hissed.

' _No but it is a ridiculous sight! My container cross-dressing and then crying because they got found out! Where is your dignity or did finally wearing all those dresses gave you the emotional intensity of a woman.'_ Naruto wiped away the streaks on his cheeks with the back of his hand. It was no use talking to Kurama right now when he was in this irrational state.

Easing himself out of bed, his back creaking and bones snapping as he unfurled himself from his rigid fetus position. Had he not been engaged in the violent flurry of thoughts which whirled like a raging blizzard in his head e would have noticed he had laid in a very uncomfortable position for a prolonged time.

He was late most likely for breakfast, Mito and Kushina were probably cooking together and Minato with Naruko was outside in the sun practising kunai training to warm up her muscles before the real deal. Minato, at heart, was a kind man, definitely more genial than Kushina who is still dubbed the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero by everyone because of her legendary temper. They both balance each other out and Naruto could see that they were most likely one formidable couple when younger. But Naruto would have thought that Kushina's maternal instincts or Minato's cool headed thinking would have pointed out Naruto's depression and neglect. But it seemed not so.

Naruto, knowing when Academy can be less interesting than staring at the blank walls in his room, instead sent a clone in his place. That way he still retained the memories from school and he could concentrate on better and more important tasks. Such as Anko teaching him about animals in Area 44, she had taken it upon herself to make a tour of the whole place like it was a simple walk in the park. Knowing that on every turn they would both encounter a new and fascinating creature sometimes they fought it together or Anko would stand back only to watch the show and cheer on the creature or Naruto, either way, she rarely fought the creature with him and instead left Naruto to clean up the mess.

With a few swift hand signs, a clone appears in front of him, a small essence of smoke dissipating, before there used to be large wastages of his chakra when summoning these clones and Anko had straight away put him to practice his chakra control. She would then put him to work with orientation exams where every odd day he would have to navigate different parts of the forest in Area 44, be it by climbing trees, walking on water or travelling by foot he trained his chakra control as well as increased his already enormous stamina. Though they had to keep in mind the strain on his body seeing as last time he passed out in the forest Anko had to retrace the whole route until she found him dangling perilously on a tree branch having fallen down from the top of the tree mid jump and adorned many cuts and bruises on his body during the long-drawn fall.

"Fail it." The clone paused and frowned. It was strange ordering someone who looked like yourself around but it was very handy.

"The test!" His clone replied. It had come to Naruto's attention that his clones had different personalities. Some were very monotone, replicating his current attitude, while others were surprisingly bubbly as if reminiscent of his character when younger. This clone was somewhere stuck between a degree of expressive and expressionless.

"Yes, I want you to fail it." Naruto reiterated to his clone who seemed to frown and seem not too sure about the decision. Ignoring the blatant indecision of his clone Naruto continued. "Remember to go through District 5 today. It has been a while since you visited them."

"The damage control?" The clone asked uncertainly. Naruto took it upon himself to control the amount of anger aimed at him in each district. Making sure the clone did not seem too aware as to why he was being hated or show he had to ability to kill them all in their sleep.

"Damage control huh?" The clone nods in response. "Let the rocks hit you but make sure to travel by the roofs. I've given you a lot of chakra to increase your durability seeing the jumpsuit", Naruto pointed with his nose crinkling in disgust at the baggy neon orange jumpsuit his clone wore, "isn't going to protect you much anytime soon. You'll get beat up in the one-on-one round in the exam today so be careful as to not explode. You know the drill be wacky, immature and give Haruno a kiss for me." The clone glared at Naruto for his end joke but gagged at her name anyway.

"See you, boss." Naruto waved him off but his expression was solemn. It was like sending a piece of him to the cruel world outside his window. His clones being a part of him being given up to sacrifice every day.

Tadashi had already left with his letter before Naruto had left to make his round as Naruko before he was found out. He was sure Anko had enough food piled up in her hideout and he was sure she would not notice if some of it disappeared if he cooked her some breakfast too. That woman can not cook without messing up somewhere. 'May God have mercy on her husband' Naruto thought to himself.

' _That is if she will get married kit,_ ' Naruto could not be anger at Kurama for long and simply forgave him. Giving a reluctant dry laugh but a laugh none the less.

The clone came to a halt in front of the Academy. He would have been lying if he said that he had loosened his guard to allow the rocks to hit him. Sure, he had pathetically waited for the nanoseconds until the impact of the rock, the hit had been more painful than what he had prepared for. But he had adequately henged his clothes to already have tears in them just like every clone before him so only the hardcore Naruto haters came after him. Normally if he had clean clothes he noticed that a larger crowd accumulated to ruin him.

Undoing the henge and revealing a ruffled jumpsuit the clone bunched up the material in his hand and frowned at the baggy cloth. It did not restrict his movement but he, having the real Naruto's memories, was more used to a tight shirt and a skirt. It was better than trousers but he was used to the transition between clothing styles. The clone pulled out his hair tie, having messily pulled all his untameable hair into a high pony but now he types the ends in a low pony and tucked it under his collar. Anko had purposely cut his hair with choppy layers, so he can type off the longer bundle of hair and the short ones he combed through with his fingers to give the impression of short spiky hair.

"So troublesome..." A voice muttered next to him. Shikamaru sauntered to his side his limbs taking small, slow steps as his head was ceremoniously tilted upwards to watch the clouds meander the currents of the wind aimlessly to new undiscovered destinations.

"Shikamaru..." The clone greeted respectfully with a firm nod and a fleeting smile. Earthy brown eyes drifted to him and paused as if to assess his posture.

"You look better than yesterday..." The clone shrugged, not at all affected by Shikamaru's mistake, knowing he was simply going through the motions of remembering his day even if it mainly consisted of sleeping.

"I wasn't here yesterday." Shikamaru shrugged.

"You weren't there but everyone still pointed it out..." Shikamaru yawned into his hand and trailed his way to the classroom, looking back briefly as if to invite the clone to join him. "Your sister was asking around for you." He continued nonchalantly, "even if you weren't here everyone still talked about you..."

The clone and Shikamaru entered the classroom, it was mainly empty except for Hinata and Shino. Immediately the two noticed the newcomers and all the conversations became a hush.

"Oh come on! We're not strangers..." The clone puffed up his cheeks in a pout. Shino having a grey trench coat with a collar reaching up to his nose didn't seem to react to his statement but Hinata made up for it. Her cheeks flooded red with embarrassment as she timidly held out her hands and tried to explain herself with a severe stutter.

"Eto! Ano? Na-Naruto-ku-kun I..er we didn't me-mean to be disres-respectful!" She ended with a high-pitched squeal. It was not a grating squeal which Sakura and Ino 'blessed' the clone with but a more gentle and flustered peep which only seemed to add to her character.

"Don't sweat it Hinata-chan, I'm only joking!" The clone quickly reassured her with a wide smile. Hinata seemed to have calmed herself but her hands still in uneasy fists. She was a sensitive girl who was easily swayed by people she cared about. But her stutter and sometimes non-sensical babble seemed to make her an easy target for bullies.

"Are you ready for today's test Naruto-kun?" Shino's voice was much deeper and rougher than of the students and teachers which gave him an air of maturity. It also made it harder to tell if Naruto, the clone, could laugh at his insect puns not knowing if the boy would be offended or not.

"Hell yeah!" Naruto gave his signature thumbs up sign to the three, Hinata smiling and loosening her fists as if reassured with Naruto's blazing confidence, Shino seemed to turn away without a word and Shikamaru cracked one eye open to regard Naruto with a knowing look.

Everyone started to flood into the classroom just five minutes before Academy officially begins. Naruto kept up his facade with his usual antics by fighting with Kiba, glaring at Sasuke at every chance he got and staring 'dreamily' at Sakura while she tried to ignore his intense looks. All in all, it was very sad routine he had to put up with every time.

Luckily he sat next to Hinata, Shikamaru and Shino who all seemed fine with his attitude and not at all worry about his mood-swings. It surprised Naruto to no ends as to how people easily accepted his over the top character. One minute he was silent as a mouse but the next he was roaring in an argument like a lion.

Today he made sure to conserve all his chakra, making sure to put extra effort into acting like he was paying attention so he would not waste any chakra. The first few periods were just Iruka, their teacher, going over the main points of the written test. Highlighting with passion the main points and always sweeping the class with his eyes to catch anyone not listening. He was especially vigilant today, only wanting his students to all pass because of the goodness of his heart.

Iruka was one person Naruto had to admit he respected, though not a lot, but he liked to be treated like any student, not put on a pedestal because of his parent's fame but not spat on either for housing Kurama's soul in his body. He could tell that sometimes, on Iruka's worst days, the man would glare at his back lightly while his eyes clouded by his past traumas. So Naruto enlightened him at times by allowing the odd judgemental glare and the rare moments Iruka would simply snap at him for trivial reasons.

"And that is all I can do." Iruka ended after his late note, "Everyone of you is capable of becoming a Genin so don't let me down but most of all don't let yourself down." Naruto let the warm and slightly nauseous feeling settle in everyone. After this test, they were all possibly becoming ninjas of this village.

"Yeah but Sensei I can come back right?!" Naruto exclaimed with a mischevious glint in his eyes.

"No!" Iruka's quick reply left everyone in fits of giggles, the man picked up that fact that all tension had dropped in the room. With an understanding and thankful smile, Iruka replied, "Even you, Naruto, can become a Genin so don't make me cry when I see you here next year!" He ended with a playful reprimand.

Having done his job of ridding the room of all tension Naruto did not bother replying to Iruka's words. Hinata timidly turned to Naruto and twiddled with her fingers.

"Na-Naruto-ku-kun I ho-hope you pa-pass!" She blushed but mustered the courage to look Naruto straight in the eyes to give him a determined expression. Naruto felt his lips twitch upwards as he lay a hand on her head and ruffled her short hair.

"Hey, have some hope for yourself! You will definitely pass Hinata-chan." Naruto ignored the shaking of her body and her swaying, leaving Shino to deal with her semi-conscious body.

Naruto stiffened when he felt Naruko's faint signature seem to zip by him. He quickly ducked under the table and suppressed his chakra just in case Naruko's Uzumaki instincts could pick him up.

"Hey have any of you seen my brother?" Naruko's voice was strained as if the majority of her energy was spent in forming the words.

"He was just here! But I-" A classmate seemed to answer.

"Oye Naruko-chan do you think your brother will pass the test. I think he will be the dead last again!" Sakura's voice filtered in over the other voice. Naruko opened her mouth to answer but Sakura spoke again, "After all no one can beat Sasuke-kun and no one that stupid can be a ninja right?" If Naruko was her younger self she would have lept to the chance to agree whole heartedly and even add of her own few insults.

Instead, Naruko stalked over to Sakura, her feet make quick work to close the distance. Brandishing her hand into tight fists Naruko jabbed forward. Sakura let out a scream while blood seemed to fill her mouth. Everyone was still at the sudden act of violence. Naruko stalked once more to her and lifted her off the ground by the collar and glared her down with tundra cold blue eyes.

"Never speak of my brother like that again. Or I will dig a grave for you personally in my backyard." Her voice plunging like a kunai deep into her heart to fill it with fear. Dropping Sakura onto the floor, ignoring her squeal when she mercilessly hit the ground, Naruko bolted off the scene to try and locate her brother.

Naruto ambled his way out his hiding spot and left the room, not wanting to be assaulted by millions of questions due to Naruko's actions. He navigated the hallways carefully and made sure to keep his senses open for Naruko's chakra, to his joy she was all the way on the other side of the building, but it seems like his luck was out again.

"Naruko-chan I found him!" It seemed that Naruko's avid followers were employed to hunt him down. Naruto ran like his life was on the line but he was too busily trying to evade the sudden crowd that he had ended up cornering himself at a dead end. Next to him was a window and he opened it slightly and only to enter the door in front of him.

Closing it behind him Naruto ducked under the desk. It seemed to be an office of some kind but Naruto did not pay attention to any of the details in fear of Naruko's followers catching up to him.

"He went out the window!" Came a muffled cry from outside the door. Naruto felt the large clump of chakra leave like a water gate being opened and the flood leaving nothing in its path. Breathing now more easily Naruto rejoiced in evading his sister. Or more like the real Naruto's sister.

"Fucking children can't see where they're going." Naruto bit his lip as if to calm his now rapidly paced heart. The door opened with a click and in entered Mizuki. The vile man was an eye-sore to Naruto and any one who had the displeasure of becoming his acquaintance or more. Naruto on more accounts than he can count every day had strange and unfortunate encounters with him. The man was always going out of his ways to look down on Naruto and make sure he knew that every time they were in each others presence.

Mizuki circled around his desk and took a seat. Naruto nearly gasped in surprise as he saw feet in front of him. He had to unceremoniously spread out his legs to make space for the man's legs. His back pressed against the back of the desk and his forehead forming beads of sweat as Mizuki seemed to tilt his foot side to side. Each action bringing him closer to Naruto's thighs. He was only millimetres from pushing his foot into Naruto when another presence made himself known to Mizuki.

"Do you have a solid plan?" Naruto held his breath hearing the newcomers voice. Wishing that Mizuki did not move his now frozen foot in any direction in fear of being found and mauled.

"Of course, the Kyuubi brat won't pass the test. Then I'll string in his sister to steal the Scroll of Seals so she can 'help' her dear brother become a genin to save her family face." Mizuki answered, his voice bloated with pride and arrogance. His foot wriggled like a leaf in the wind and seemed to edge closer to Naruto's thigh. Then it abruptly changed direction and instead Mizuki seemed to stretch his leg. His toes pushing ever closer to Naruto's crotch. Naruto could feel heat pooling in his cheeks and body as his breath quickened.

"And if he passes?" Mizuki snorted. His foot stops moving and Naruto tries to press his legs closer to the sides of the desk giving him space to tilt forward furthermore pushing his hips backwards. Wanting to put as much distance between the despicable man's feet and his crotch.

"He won't. The block head won't get anywhere. He will get the hardest paper in the year. He stance all wrong and he has a frail body so he won't survive against the Uchiha who he will be pitted against for the final test. He is bound to fail." Mizuki was so full of himself and Naruto was glad that this man was such an egotistic person for he had just told Naruto all his plans.

"We will hold you for that..." The mysterious character seemed to disappear. Mizuki snorted with a crude smirk engraved on his lips.

"As if I could go wrong." With that Mizuki stood, his foot retreating away from his groin allowing Naruto to finally take a breather, and made his way to the exit, Naruto let out a sigh of relief and threw his head back. With a bang, the back of his head hit the back of the desk.

"What was that?" Mizuki muttered to himself as he paused. Naruto gulped cursing himself for moving when Mizuki was obviously still in the room.

"Oye Sensei!" Mizuki turned sharply at the student who called out to him and slammed the door shut to give the student an earful. Naruto huffed. His legs becoming lax as they had become numb from the strain they were put under when he pushed them against the desk. Naruto frowned at the depletion in his chakra. He would have to use it sparingly.

"Is that enough?" Naruto called out- the real Naruto that is. A tall woman lazily sat on the table and leant against the wooden walls of her hideout chewed on a skewer which originally held syrupy dangos. She seemed to be disillusioned with nibbling at the wooden stick as if trying to make the most of the syrupy goodness which was embedded deeply in the wood. Her eyes strayed to the open box next to Naruto, who seemed to ignore the last stick of dangos.

Naruto still wore the same attire from the morning to the woman's delight but wore a pristine white lab coat which pinched at his waist and tapered off like a skirt to his knees. Hands encased in latex gloves he held out a glass tube towards his companion only to show his ire at her dazed features which stared longingly at the Dango box.

"Sensei," he addressed patiently, still no response, "Sensei!" His voice more firm and urgent but still the woman paid no regard. "Anko Mitarashi-Sensei!" He added her full name to show his irritation but still schooled his features into an emotionless stare. Anko spluttered out her trance and pouted by sticking out her lower lip and trying to glaze her eyes with tears.

"Oh come on, Naru-chan!" Anko whined with a vexatious tone, "I was having the best dream of saving a Dango man and then he said he would make dangos for me forever in return for saving him." Her voice only seemed to get more bothersome so Naruto fixed her with his more none sober stare. But Anko still held her ground like whatever she had just said was sane enough to interrupt Naruto's learning.

"Take it," Naruto muttered at the loss.

"What...?" Anko blinked in bewilderment.

"Just take the god-damn dangos and tell me what to do!" Naruto shoved the box into Anko's leg and watched the woman inhale the sweets with more enthusiasm that he had ever seen given to a sweet.

"See how it's all milky now?" Naruto nodded while gazing at the test tube. "Let it sit for a few minutes and drain out as much liquid as you can without losing the precipitate then heat it." Naruto took a pencil and immediately noted down whatever Anko was saying. "You don't want to heat it start away 'cause than effects will be weakened so drain a bit then heat it. The concentration needed to kill a baby is 10 micrograms, a teenager is 30 micrograms and a full grown adult needs 100 micrograms. Of course, you need to take into account how to administrate it and the best way is by inhalation because it causing breathing problems and reduces the capacity of air on can take in." Naruto continues to dutifully note down everything.

"So best application would be a bomb?" Naruto enquired.

"Yeah, but the problem is that when airborne it will travel very easily in the wind. In theory and practice, it has inflicted problems on both sides so it is not used much..."

"Didn't they use a wind jutsu to keep the gas on the other side?"

"True but look on the flip side gaki, it's been used many times and the enemy is most likely going to use another wind jutsu to counter the gas even if they don't know what it is.

"But what if I made a barrier of some sort. I will stick the tag on someone and throw the bomb and then activate the barrier to hold the cloud in..." Naruto tailed off.

"Hmm," Anko thought, "but is it worth? The hassle of getting the tag on the enemy unnoticed then on top of that throwing the bomb and being fast enough to avoid them using the kawarimi. In a battle situation, you want to eliminate with efficiency, no hassle wanted." Naruto's shoulders sagged slightly.

"Woah calm down gaki!" Anko noticed the slight depression in his mood, having been around him enough to notice his minimal body language. "Ideas cool and all but the poisons just shit in a close encounter."

"What rank is it?"

"Technically we are illegally brewing it right now which is 20 years in prison and growing the Sakada plant for it is also illegal with a sentence of 5 years and probation of 10 years, so pretty illegal..." Naruto looked at his sensei and the tube in his hand. At times like this, he was very happy that they were in Area 44 as not many ninjas ventured in these parts knowing a deadly Snake Mistress guard this area ferociously.

Not deterred by these facts Naruto noted these details in a small box. This particular journal had all his research, which he performed with Anko, to do with poisons, how to brew them, which administration is most lethal and where you can get the ingredients with no consequences of authorities knowing of your dangerous buy. Each plant had a detailed watercolour painting and lines which pointed out each distinctive feature and how to pick them, etc.

"Your Academy ended ten minutes ago. We're your clone?" Anko stared at the clock ticking mindlessly on the wall. Naruto shrugged.

"I'm failing anyway." Anko didn't comment. She knew it was not her place, even if it pissed her off how lightly Naruto was taking his life. Not everyone had the luxury of going with the flow, knowing the flow will end with your careless death, and she didn't know why Naruto was living in the illusion that he could afford the luxury of stalling his life.

A melodic tap on the window caused Anko to twist around and wave casually at the clone perched on the balcony in front of the table they were working at. Naruto ignored the clone and instead focused on washing all the apparatus used in making the poison, knowing he had to disinfect each carefully.

"Done." Naruto heard a firm clunk of wood against metal and turned slowly to see a cloth being placed on the table. His clone nervous but tried to distract himself by staring at his well-maintained nails.

"What do you mean 'done'?" Naruto's words churned out slowly but dared his clone to say deliver him bad news.

The clone seemed to walk around the table to the other side, putting some distance between him and Naruto. Naruto carefully approached the item and narrowed his eyes at the familiar plaque sewn onto the black cloth.

"Whos _Hitai-ate_ did you steal?" The clone mumbled a little, "Speak louder." Naruto pushed firmly with an acidic glare.

"What makes you think I stole it, pussy!" The clone screamed at the top of his voice. Anko quickly jumping away to the side of the room to avoid getting involved in any physical confrontation.

"You did not!" Naruto whispered but his clone still held his ground.

"I just did." Naruto reached for the scalpel he had used to dissect the plant parts with a aimed it at his clone.

Knowing the situation would deteriorate quickly his clone lunged for a test tube holder and knocked the scalpel off course. "You think I would skip a year because Naruko is in our year, knowing that she will be put in your group!" Another projectile glid through the air and was knocked off course.

"You were supposed to fail so Naruko would not stick her nose in our business!" Naruto countered.

"She bloody lives with you pussy footer! Admit it you can't hurt her because you still see her as your sister, you're a wanker through and through!" Naruto knew where that quote came from and he was not happy.

"I do not! I didn't keep my abilities a secret so you could ruin it all now you're going to have Danzo on our bloody ass you bastard!" The clone was not having it and threw the test tube holder and Naruto ducked to avoid the object.

"I don't care about that cunt so he can go suck himself off in the fucking corner! I only live for one thing and that is Ouji-sama!" Naruto paused and allowed the clone to continue. "You may have forgotten but he was the man who pulled you, and us, out of the darkness, but you still want to take the piss and act like the spoilt child!" It was like a slap in the face actually. Naruto sagged and the adrenaline he was running was all in smokes.

"I will remind you what you have been striving for! Freedom! Freedom to be with Tanuki-sama! And I will remind you every time you summon me into existence!" It was a miracle that the clone had not lost his voice from all the shouting that was happening. With that, his chakra ran out and the clone poofed out of existence but his words still echoed in Naruto's ears.

Anko who was watching all this was trying to hold back her laughter but came to Naruto's side and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Naruto revelled in her warm presence but then immediately regretted it.

"How's is going," Anko paused and giggled,"...pussy footer." Naruto slapped her hand away but made not move to reprimand her audacity. It was partially his fault. Whenever he got angry his persona would change and his language would deteriorate into posh swearing though used in a ridiculous way.

"I'm going to have to keep an eye on Naruko, just in case Mizuki has a plan B." Naruto muttered to himself.

 **Woah a lot of swearing. Any way this is a long chapter so enjoy! And please comment!**


	7. Chapter 7

Anko had now made it her job to remind how Naruto had just insulted himself implicitly using clones. But it was better this way, Naruto could not help but muse, better than Anko was not wrecking havoc around, only for him to clean it up, in light of her boredom. She seems to have lost herself in her imagination as she hummed to herself and sung quietly a whimsical tune about Naruto and his clones throwing in insults like they were Christmas presents. The woman was a goner if she did not have her daily dosage of mochiko drenched in syrupy goodness and seeing her singing to herself with a wide devilish grin set Naruto's nerves alight. Pulling out a few notes from his pocket he placed them on the table.

"I'm leaving..." Naruto muttered and left his teacher to her own devices shouting 'thank you' repetitively as he left. Not believing in using his clones of a while after the getup the recent one pulled, even if it did bring him back to his senses. Stripping off his lab coat and latex gloves, Naruto grabbed his Hitai-ate and decided he would trail Naruko for the rest of the day so Mizuki didn't do anything drastic in a blind rage.

Naruko scratched her head, she cursed her luck when the bell rang out. They weren't having lunch today because of the exam and that means the only way she could talk to her brother was at home. But if she talked at home her parents would most likely get nosey, not that they minded when it came to her activities but she knew Naruto would not appreciate the extra attention.

She made her way to her classroom and glared pointedly at Mizuki who smiled at her creepily. Naruko was not blind, she knew how the man treated her brother and frankly it angered her to the point she wanted to shred the man with a wind jutsu her father taught her.

Everyone seated themselves spaces apart and five more Chūnin ninjas entered the room. In Konohagakure, examinations were taken very seriously since it was the bridge between becoming a ninja and being a civilian so every year they would hold very strictly enforced exams to track the progress of the children.

Naruko did not pride herself in intelligence, though she aced the hand to hand combat easily. She breezed through the paper, only answering the ones she was very sure of and then bullshitted her way through the more complex mentally challenging ones.

She turned the page over and started to sketch, with stick figures, but when Mizuki announced it was nearing the end of the test Naruko flushed as to what she had drawn. She herself was holding her brother's hand and apparently handing him a monumental amount of presents, he deserved it after all. But what really threw her off was the hearts she had drawn around them. She was not a lovesick puppy. No way. Quickly grabbing her rubber she immediately erased all the evidence of her fantasy.

She sat there silently, glad she had not pressed her pencil too hard so the drawing was literally embedded in her paper, she would hate for someone to accidentally find out whatever she drew. She peeled the sticker off the top of her paper and handed in her paper making sure to check she still had the sticker in her pocket which had her roll number.

With upgrades in security every time there was a new test each student was given a random roll number linked to the paper to ensure there was no favouritism during marking, not only that but teachers did not mark the papers but Chunin were hand picked to mark each paper making sure no same Chunin marked the same paper within a year and finally, something Naruko herself was sure to be happy or annoyed, was that 12 Chunin were employed to mark all the papers and they worked at such a fast rate that all the marking was collated by the end of the combat exam. So marks were handed out at the very end not allowing any gap between examination and results.

Her class were escorted outside to determine their accuracy exams with the throwing of shurikens while her brother's class, having done the accuracy exam, rotated to take the written exam. She caught the glimpse of her brother and flashed him a small smile she hoped he would see. But his eyes seemed to skim over her in disinterest. Though seeing her brother in such tacky clothes made her angry. Not that she could blame him. She knew he did to try and get someones attention after all he was starved of it most of his life.

Getting full marks on throwing ten kunai's and ten shurikens Naruko accepted the loud whoops of joy from her admirers and she had to admit there was no shortage of them, though most of them were civilian who could only dream of speaking to her and performing at her level.

Finally, it was the combat exam. Both classes were called out to the field and Naruko watched her brother in the crowd watching two combatants come forward and fight. Iruka and Mizuki stood side by side, Iruka marking and Mizuki holding a stopwatch. She could tell he was bored. His head did not turn to survey his surroundings and his eyes did not track the events in front of him. It was like he was in his own little world.

"Can Uchiha Sasuke and Namikaze Naruto please come forward?" Mizuki called out. Naruko bit her lip. She would be lying if she said that she had hundred percent fate in her brother's chances of winning. But his body was weak and tired easily whereas Sasuke was worked to the bone by his father to uphold the Uchiha fighting style standards, somewhat like Hinata.

"Can both of you stand at the white lines," Iruka asked. Naruko watched with fascination as Sasuke seemed to adorn his usual smirk as he lined himself by the white line. Her brother, on the other hand, approached his line somewhat hesitantly.

Iruka now satisfied with the distance repeated the rules quickly, "The test is five minutes and in this, you will be tested on defence, offence, stamina, agility and variety of moves you perform. You may start when you hear the whistle." Sasuke instantly went into the telltale stance of the Uchiha style, however his muscles not taut with the alertness that one would find in an experienced ninja. Naruto, on the other hand, had some essence of that tautness even when he did not ready himself in any sort of stance. Instead, Naruto just stood still like an unmovable stone statue yet his eyes soaked in every minute detail of his surroundings, especially his opponents lax guard.

Naruko nearly flinched when she heard the whistle, having lost herself in staring at her brother so profoundly. She honestly didn't want to watch, knowing her brother had most likely passed the written exam with full marks, not knowing if she would witness an easy win for Sasuke or a painful fall for her brother. Either way, it would hurt.

Sasuke pushed forward with a force to be reckoned with. He was not messing around most likely wanting to finish off Naruto as quickly as possible. Naruko winced waiting for the punch to hit but when she looked up again she saw her brother seem to use the forearm to redirect Sasuke's punch to the side. That was when Naruko caught Naruto's features.

Naruko unconsciously held her breath, her brother's eyes seemed to have lost all softness and instead were replaced with stern unforgiving gunmetal cerulean eyes. Like sharp steel, they seemed to pour over Sasuke's stature burning him like molten metal being spilt over his very being. As if burn Sasuke jumped back. It was then Naruto bent down into a slight crouch now taking this test critically.

Sasuke not deterred by his fight move pushed forward once more with a clean uppercut. Naruto having calculated his movements with a stale stare tilted his body back and went for a kick to the stomach. The whole field was soundless, all enthralled by the fight in front of them. Naruko gripped her skirt and found it hard to breathe. Naruto was weak. He was born weak. Then why is he winning?

Naruko felt herself hyperventilate, her heart pulsing hotly in her chest against her rib cage while watching the one-sided fight. Naruto was taking the fight with strides and Naruko could smell the frustration oozing from Sasuke who has had all his advancements sidetracked like lint off of clothing. Yet all in all Sasuke was the one on the offence, Naruto did not try to lay a hand on Sasuke. Through it, all Sasuke was getting more desperate than a baby bird wanting to take a flight to follow his mother.

But Naruto was similar to a hummingbird, his brain brimming with thoughts faster than the speed of light like the beating of the bird's wings, however, he stood still as a picture, hovering in place to observe prudently his surroundings. Sasuke didn't stand a chance at this rate.

Everyone enraptured by the battle, even the ones who were cheering Sasuke with loud 'whoops' and demeaning Naruto with jeers had quietened down to actually absorb the unbelievable action. This went on some time, Sasuke going through systematically every offensive move his mind could blurt out in foolhardiness. Jabs, uppercuts, hooks and crosses all seamlessly blocked or brushed off consistently with not a single crack in Naruto's impassive expression. Instead, his eyes were dull as if unimpressed with Sasuke's current combativeness all while seeming superior and deeming Sasuke inferior to him.

Then it was the moment Naruko had been waiting for. Sasuke had his palm forward in a pathetic attempt to push Naruto off balance when Naruto took a side-step and used his right hand to grab Sasuke's hand. With Naruto's fingers on Sasuke's palm, thumb on top of his attacker's hand. Twisting his attacker's hand clockwise and pushing on the back of Sasuke's right bicep with his left forearm. Delivering a swift strike to Sasuke's skull with his elbow the boy was at Naruto's mercy. Sasuke's hand in a wristlock and on his knees, Naruto standing in a firm but victorious stance Naruko went wild.

"If you struggle any harder I will dislocate your wrist," Naruto pushed Sasuke's already uncomfortable wrist only for the boy to let out a pained grunt.

"Stop!" Iruka shouted. Naruto immediately let's go and stepped away from the scene.

Please do Comment and tell me what you think :)


	8. Chapter 8

Gaara felt his finger twitch for the third time. He was glad that Baki was so engrossed in the green plants' history because if he were to look up he would have become paralysed by toxic seafoam green eyes.

The three ninja, Gaara, Kankuro and Temari were touring the greenhouse when Baki kept stopping to point to a plant and tell its history from 'a to z' and Gaara was just seconds away from bundling them all into a ball of sand and throwing them out the glass roof. Adding insult to injury the exit was right in front of them and Gaara could feel the Suna heat seep in through the cracks in the door but it seemed all the plants they had to review were sown right next to the exit.

Temari could feel the anger off Gaara even when the boy's face was as faceless as the sand which covered her home. It was easy for her to detect strong emotions in her little brother when she saw how the sand seemed to shift ever so slightly in agitation. His face was blank but ironically his sand was honest in its intention and Temari didn't need to guess that he wanted to go out and murder someone.

"And here is the Athyrium or as we know it: Lady Fern. Commonly found growing under trees or alongside stumps in moist to wet forests, on streambanks, or in swamps or meadows. For there successful cultivation, fronds should be protected from breaking in harsh winds." Baki seemed to gently touch the greenery and stroke the lance-shaped fronds by the edge.

"This fern is different from most because it can tolerate sunshine and heat, as long as its soil is kept relatively moist. If you grab some and roll it up between your palms into a rough mash the juices released will quickly ease minor cuts, stings and burns."

"This is a staple item required when on missions or travelling and you can get the balm embedded with the juice from any medical shop." He turned around and gave a glance to his students only to pause on Gaara and feel his eyes pull Baki into a realm of promised pain.

So the man hastily wraps up the session by opening the door of the greenhouse and gesture the others to exit the building into the searing afternoon heat of Suna.

"Well, that wraps up the tour of the greenhouse," even if there were more than five plants and trees they had to visit, Baki mentally pushed that into a different session for the future. "Now we leave for the mission."

Temari nodded, slightly pulling at the neck of her garment to allow some breeze to cool her but the day was barren of any wind, the air stale and motionless at this time. Normally the cool air blew west from the Land of Rivers and Village of Rain. However, today was not the case and many were indoors to stay cool.

Pulling out the scroll from a pouch at his hips Baki unravelled it. He didn't know what it would entail but he didn't need to be the Kazekage's mind reader to know it was an assassination mission. Skimming through the words he raised an eyebrow.

"Intelligence from Suna headquarters have tracked down a trafficking racket and narrowed their location to the southern area of the Land of Rivers. Estimated number of enemies is ten and their abilities are placed around Jounin and Chunin levels. You are needed to capture these two men."

Flipping the scroll over and handing it to the oldest, Temari, who absorbed the small slightly blurry images of three men. None of them had any interesting details to highlight and seemed to be normal people she would see passing on the street.

It was always like this. The missions seemed less about international affairs and were now all about regulating Suna. After the attack of the Ichibi, many civilians were killed and homes destroyed. Suna could not rebuild fast enough and all the high paying jobs were going to more stable Villages like Konohagakure. Corruption and bribery were running amok no matter what the current Kazekage was implementing. The shortage of honest people had run dry as many turned bitter at the loss of family and the hope of a brighter future grew dimmer under the heated glare of the Suna sun.

Handing it to her brother and then onto Gaara considering he was going to be the on to kill the most on this mission. Baki then allowed the students to pack for the journey and then they left by the Eastern Gate called the Suna No Tengoku (Sand Haven). Setting off at an explosive speed Gaara used the sand under his feet to propel himself forward, not having the muscle mass or stamina to keep at the speed Baki was imposing.

The air was softly ruffling through everyone's hair and caressing the exposed skin of the team as they lunged through the sand. It was natural that those of his village were fundamentally swifter than lasted longer in a race than an average foreigner considering you need to spend 1.6 times the amount of the energy that an outsider uses to go the same distance on soil. But then again it did all boil down to how much the ninjas in his village took advantage of this fact.

"Just a little longer." Temari had scooted closer to him when noticing how Gaara seemed to be grinding his teeth together to control the headache Shukaku was creating with his hollow echoing screams for blood and death.

It was different from his normally deep voice which was somewhat peculiarly comforting to Gaara. It sounded like the smooth rolling thunder he would hear before rain fell in his village. It was the only time he could on the streets without having to worry about other people since that would all be indoors and trying to collect water for the upcoming dry season. Overall Shukaku's voice was grating against his eardrum and Gaara was sure if his siblings heard a second of what he was suffering both their eardrums would be bleeding.

"I will hunt them." Gaara replied darkly. Temari pressed her lips together but nevertheless gave a sharp nod of understanding. Glancing at Kankuro she signalled with her hand that both of them should not get involved with the mission. Gaara felt his older brother gave him a wary glance but brushed it off immediately when Shukaku started to rattle the cage he was trapped in.

'Mother get a hold of yourself!' Gaara gritted out in his head.

 ** _My son, I have a very tight hold on myself. You really wouldn't want to see me when I don't have a hold on myself. sO FuCKinG KiLl THem AlL!_**

Gaara felt like a time bomb about to explode when his speed abruptly seemed to increase. The forest was rushing into view and Gaara immediately erected a wall between the forestry and his team.

Everyone skidded on the sand and came to a stop and eyed Gaara warily.

"S ** _t_** OP _**i**_ **_W_** iLl g ** _O_** On **_mY_** O _wN_ " Gaara felt Shukaku's chakra leak out of his body. When Shukaku was in this state holding in chakra in check was like holding water in your hands, even the smallest slip in concentration means the floodgates would open. Gaara didn't want his siblings to be caught in the process.

Baki seemed to know what was going on without asking. "Just don't kill the man you saw the photo of." And with that Gaara felt the sand shift restlessly under him and without warning he using the sand to launch himself into the sky and into the middle of the forest where the men were supposedly sighted.

Seeing the ground grow dangerously closer Gaara allowed his sand to spill out from his gourd and form a makeshift slide to soften his speed to the ground. Dropping to his feet Gaara thinned out his sand in the air and spread it as far as his chakra enabled him to.

 ** _HuRrY huRRY!_**

Gaara didn't need to be told twice and felt something tingle from the sand spread to the north. Retracting the sand from all other directions which had not detected anything Gaara followed the thinly spread out sand like he was on a treasure hunt and the reward was the blood of his enemies.

The closer he got the more excited Shukaku seemed to get as the rattling of the cage heightened to unbearable levels.

Slowing down to a now crawling pace Gaara come across a lively sight. Some unknown foreigners were tied up around a tree while the perpetrators seemed to be having lunch around a campfire while sorting their loot.

Gaara immediately sent his sand tumbling on the ground and targeted the ones he needed to subdue and not kill. He used some of his sand to solidify and root the two men to the ground. Now that couldn't escape if they wanted to.

Gaara felt his heart pump unnaturally fast when his mind was solely set on killing the rest. It was a simple task to create spears from his sand, however, he imbued them with some of Shukaku's chakra. In his head, he could hear the thumping of Shukaku's tail in delight for the upcoming events.

 ** _CoMe On ChIlD KilL TheM AlL._**

And with no further push, Gaara gave a flick of his wrist in the direction of the rest of his enemies and aimed for the stomach of every one of them. It took less than a blink of an eye to ruin them and screams of men old and young filled the forest. Shukaku seemed to revel in the sounds as he chanted for more.

Without Gaara's encouragement the sand spears retreated into the body they stabbed and formed a sphere.

 ** _YeS, MoRe BloOd!_**

Gaara watched with innate fascination as the balls of sand spiked out like a pufferfish being threatened and if the screams from before were bad the ones now were being seared into his memory. Blood squirted everywhere and the only alive souls were of the enemies Gaara had to capture, the poor bystanders and Gaara himself.

"Gaara!" Temari was the first to come onto the sight and seemed to grimace and turn away for a moment. The sight was gory even for an experienced ninja like her. She had never seen a body with so many holes until now. The sand seemed to have stopped its assault on the corpses and spread out on the ground as if to soak up all the blood dripping from the bodies bountifully before returning to Gaara's gourd.

"I'm sorry," Gaara muttered when Kankuro came to the scene with concern in his eyes. "Shukaku got carried away." Temari shook her head adamantly before placing a hand lightly on Gaara's shoulder.

"Never apologise for that monster." Gaara blinked owlishly.

"Come on little brother. It was something you couldn't control." Kankuro whose muscles came out of being frozen when he came upon the bodies. Moving to the only enemies Gaara left alive, he tied their hands with chakra enhanced string and when on to survey the poor bystanders who watched with unkempt horror.

"Shukaku says 'I can't control it either you puny, pea-size brained insect'." Kankuro frowned at Gaara and felt a shiver run down his spine. Temari decided to break it up.

"Stop fighting! Gaara are you okay now?" Her voice was soft, like what Gaara would expect a mother to sound when she heard her son was injured.

Gaara could only offer a nod while Shukaku grumbled about being sleepy.

 **Oh lord how long has it been XD Well I hope you like the update because I know all you love a cute Gaara so here he is :) Please do comment**


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